Creative Arts Series - Past Events

Spring 2024 Events

Faculty Biennial Exhibition 

A variety of media and styles from the Jacksonville University School of Art & Design Faculty come together in the Biennial showcase. The exhibition includes illustration, print, photography, ceramics, sculpture, glass, experimental film and computer-generated works. 

November 30 through January 25 

Closing Reception: Thursday, January 25 at 5:00 PM 

ALEXANDER BREST GALLERY 

 

The Ethics of Seduction

Philosophy Slam 

Dr. Sarah LaChance Adams, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of North Florida and Director of the Florida Blue Center for Ethics. 

While it is well known that seduction can be practiced unethically, Dr. LaChance Adams argues for a more expansive definition of seduction as an attempt to incite desire in another person for greater proximity with oneself. Ethical seduction, she claims, is a form of play that entails open inquiry into another’s worldview and that results in the co-creation of the subjects themselves. 

Wednesday, January 31 at 7:30 PM

RIVER HOUSE

 

Cairns

Mark Mcleod

Memory is a fallible, persistently shifting, exploitable thing. Mcleod's interest in memory stems from his own severe ADHD and a family history of dementia. This inability to remember has caused the questioning of not only how he understands his past, but more importantly, how he defines his present. Through 3D printers, laser cutters and CNC machines, Mcleod uses technology to carefully construct digital collages that are produced as multi-layered mnemonic monuments. Whether a recreation of past events or the augmentation of current reality, the divide between what is remembered, what is presented and what is real is indistinguishably and irrevocably blurred. 

And

Good Mourning of Age and Memory

James Enos and Jess Machacek

While Machacek reflects upon notions of nature constructed by irony and familiarity, Enos absorbs the built environment in an effort to understand how public cultures respond to change. Working collaboratively, they are interested in ideas of scale, modularity and pattern as references to social and environmental thinking occurring in concert. Likewise, Good Mourning of Age and Memory, from the two, is an exhibition combining architectural sculpture, drawing and print in ways that point to materials shaped by urban and hinterland processes. This work carefully plays with the push-and-pull of an extractivist reality specific to the history of the Southeastern United States, i.e., one evoking shared experiences of place, sites of memory and their erasure.

February 1 through February 28

Opening Reception: Thursday, February 1 at 5:00 PM

ALEXANDER BREST GALLERY 

 

Guitar Retreat

A day of guitar immersion through lessons, classes, presentations and performance. This free event is open to all guitar students and enthusiasts of all levels.

Saturday, February 3 All Day

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

7th Annual Walter Visiting Writer Series

Through the generosity of Ralph and Anina Walter, the Department of Literature, Language and Culture invites a nationally renowned author to visit Jacksonville University's campus each year. The series highlights writers of various genres and eclectic styles. This year’s visiting writer is multiple-award winning essayist Eula Biss. Her second book, Notes from No Man’s Land, received multiple honors, including the National Book Critics Circle Award. The visit includes a catered reception, public reading and book signing. 

Thursday, February 8 at 6:00 PM

RIVER HOUSE

 

Voice Faculty Recital

Voice faculty present a recital of classical and musical theater repertoire.

Friday, February 9 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Spring Orchestra Concert 

The Jacksonville University Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Marguerite Richardson presents a concert of masterworks from the orchestral repertoire.

Tuesday, February 13 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Celebrating Black History Month Through Fine Arts Concert

The Jacksonville University Student Government Association partners with the Linda Berry Stein College of Fine Arts & Humanities in a celebration of Black History Month.

Friday, February 16 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Ensemble X-55 Percussion

This concert by Ensemble X-55 is a hot-take on important literature for percussion. Works on the program include: Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices, and Organ and Nagoya Marimbas by Steve Reich, Homunculus C.F. by Julia Perry, and Mudra by Bob Becker. Julia Perry’s work was composed in honor of Black History Month and was a harmonically groundbreaking work at the premiere.

Tuesday, February 20 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

The Revolutionists

*ticketed event

A Comedy; a Quartet, a Revolutionary Dream Fugue, a True Story By Lauren Gunderson 

Directed by Debi Jordan

"A story is more alive than a fact. A story is what lives."

The year is 1793 and the Reign of Terror blazes with fury in Paris. Using the revolution as a framework, playwright Lauren Gunderson explores the lives of 4 women, historical revolutionaries, Olympe de Gouges, Marianne Angelle, Charlotte Corday and Marie Antoinette. This biting comedy, described by the Chicago-Tribune as powerful and defiant, offers audiences a glimpse of one of history's most tragic events as enacted by some of history's bravest women.

Friday, February 23 and Saturday, February 24 at 7:30 PM

Sunday, February 25 at 2:00 PM

SWISHER THEATER

 

New Music

Join us for the New Music at Jacksonville University Concert featuring works recently composed by Jacksonville University faculty and students.

Thursday, February 29 at 7:30 PM 

TERRY CONCERT HALL 

 

Rossano Galant, Guest Artist

Rossano Galante is best known as a composer for symphonic band and film. As a prolific composer and orchestrator he has over 50 published compositions for winds and has orchestrated for over 75 films. He will appear with the Jacksonville University Wind Ensemble as well as the First Coast Wind Symphony as a guest conductor and clinician for this concert of band works.

Saturday, March 2 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Fall of the Leaf

Jacksonville University faculty Dr. Jay Ivey, Dr. Shannon Lockwood and Dr. Scott Watkins perform a recital featuring Imogene Holst's Fall of the Leaf for solo cello, Lori Laitman’s Long Pond Revisited for voice and cello and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata in G Minor for cello and piano.

Tuesday, March 5 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

Fall 2023 Events

MFA: In The Works

MFA in the Works is an exhibition of works by Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts candidates in the Linda Berry Stein College of Fine Arts & Humanities at Jacksonville University. This body of work is produced during the summer intensive residency and reflects investigation of thesis content through a diversity of practices.

July 27 – August 23

Opening Reception: Thursday, July 27 at 5:00 PM

ALEXANDER BREST GALLERY

 

No Exit

by Jean-Paul Sartre
Adapted and Directed by Brian Niece

This contemporary adaptation based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s French play Huis Clos is a world premiere contemporary version of the existential classic tale. Filled with dark humor, this adaptation embraces the philosophy, angst, comedy, and tragedy of the possibility that hell might be other people. Of course, heaven might be other people, too. Laughter and tears could be mistaken for each other in this enlightening look into who we really are. No Exit will be produced by Lumen Repertory Theatre, Northeast Florida’s newest professional theatre company, founded by JU Department of Theatre faculty Kristin Livingston, Brian Niece, and JU alum Josh Andrews. For more information about Lumen Rep or to buy tickets visit lumenrep.org

July 28 - 29 & August 4 - 5, 11 - 12 at 7:30 PM

Sunday, August 6 at 2:00 PM

SWISHER THEATER

 

Giant-Size Comics

Christopher Troutman 

Troutman's unexpected vantage points and dynamic compositions are borrowed from American comics as way to make every day subject matter compelling. The large-scale mix of digital drawing, painting and analog marks on paper incorporate features from the comics medium to engage the larger public as a familiar presence in popular entertainment. Troutman subdivides compositions into sections with panels, suggesting the passage of time and storytelling. This ongoing project of large-scale drawings, adapted as two-page graphic novel spreads, tells the story of his family's experiences in the US and Japan.

 

And

 

Firstlings: Sculptures + Works on Paper

Arny Nadler

Nadler's sculptures and works on paper investigate the body in a state of ambiguous metamorphosis, struggling to adapt to life's ever-changing circumstances. What specifically they are becoming is not very important—that they are on their way toward an unknown conclusion is. Nadler is obsessed with the predicament of the human form, both its fragility and its dominance on the environment. Drawing on human, animal, and unworldly bodies, the sculptural figures precariously gesture, as if even they don't know what they truly are. Some are in fact grotesque, or alluring, or both. Nadler's drawing practice began as a warmup exercise, to quickly experiment with the fluidity of form without the constraints of gravity and the inherent challenges of working with clay. The drawings and sculptures now develop symbiotically, each influence how Nadler sees and makes the other.

August 31 – October 6

Closing Reception: Thursday, October 5 at 5:00 PM

ALEXANDER BREST GALLERY

 

Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano

Faculty members Eric Olson, Stephanie K Magnus and Dr. Scott Watkins pair Poulenc’s mid-1920s Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano with Daniel Black’s 2007 nod to Poulenc in his own Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano.

Tuesday, September 5 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Welcome Back Weekend Faculty Showcase

Join us for the annual Faculty Music Showcase featuring the broad-ranging talents of our distinguished faculty of artist-teachers.

Friday, September 15 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Music for Solo Marimba

This concert will feature two premier performances of works by Gordon Stout and Bob Moore. The concert begins with Epétios for solo marimba a new work by Professor Steve that was commissioned for an anniversary. Also on the program will be Gordon Stout’s iconic Two Mexican Dances for Marimba from 1974. The two premiers are Stout’s, Two Avian Dances for Marimba and Sahaja by Bob Moore both written for Professor Steve.

Postponed TBA

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Alexei Romanenko in Recital

Cellist Alexei Romanenko and pianist Rose Shlyam Grace perform three monumental and iconic sonatas by Beethoven, Barber, and Brahms.

Tuesday, September 19 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

The Role of the Courts

Philosophy Slam 

Vanessa Zboreak, Jacksonville University Associate Professor of Law 

In recognition of Constitution Day, Professor Zboreak will discuss the role of the federal courts in democracy. This issue will be explored through the lens of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 term, including a consideration of the impact of the Court’s decisions. 

Wednesday, September 20 at 7:30PM

RIVER HOUSE

 

Hispanic Heritage Month Concert

Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration and Concert

The Hispanic Latino Student Association collaborates with the Stein College of Fine Arts & Humanities in a student-led musical celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Thursday, September 21 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

She Kills Monsters 

*ticketed event

by Qui Nguyen
Directed by Erik DeCicco

Calling all adventurers! After losing her family in a car crash, Agnes finds her sister Tilly's un-played Dungeons and Dragons module - and embarks on the quest her sister left behind. In the process, Agnes meets some of her sisters' friends, adversaries, and grapples with her own acceptance of her family's death. Nguyen's tale of loss, love, and community explores the human struggles of sexuality, death, and the possibility of remaining close with a loved one after losing them. This play won several Drama Desk awards in its New York production and continues to delight audiences in its irreverent approach to exploring sisterhood. Grab a sword and a shield - the adventure awaits!

Friday, September 22 and Saturday, September 23 at 7:30 PM

Sunday, September 24 at 2:00 PM

SWISHER THEATER

 

Invitation to the Dance…

The Jacksonville University Orchestra kicks off the 2023-2024 season with a wonderful evening of music sure to set your toes tapping, including the thrilling Márquez, Danzon No. 2.

Tuesday, September 26 at 7:30 PM 

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Ensemble X-55 Percussion

Ensemble X-55 Percussion will perform a concert of works by John Cage, Gordon Stout, Nigel Westlake, Sherri Chung, and Bill Boston. Living Room Music by John Cage of mid-century Atomic era America. Gordon Stout’s, Prelude: Winter Song. Omphalo Centric Lecture by Nigel Westlake, An Unfamiliar Archipelago by Sherri Chung, featuring harpist, Nadia Shapk. Silent Experimental Film, Life and Death of Hollywood Extra 941, scored by Bill Boston.

Learn more about Sherri Chung and William Boston.

Tuesday, October 3 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Kinne Trio

The Kinne Trio (Marguerite Richardson, violin; Shannon Lockwood, ‘cello; and Scott Watkins, piano), top prize winner in the 2022 Euterpe International Music Awards in Berlin, presents Tchaikovsky’s epic Piano Trio in A Minor. No work in the piano trio repertoire demands more virtuosity, stamina, or lyricism.

Thursday, October 5 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Jacksonville University Cello Studio featuring Alexei Romanenko 

Members of the Jacksonville University cello studio perform favorites from the repertoire, joined by Jacksonville Symphony principal cellist Alexei Romanenko.  

Sunday, October 8 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Bach and Beyond

The Jacksonville University Camerata takes a trip back in time to the Baroque era with chamber orchestra favorites, including Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 2.

Thursday, October 12 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Academia

Philosophy Slam 
Ron Edelen, Jacksonville University
Assistant Professor of Visual Design

Professor Ron Edelen leads a discussion about current trends in AI and the use of natural language models, machine learning, and generative image tools within the industry. Specific focus will be on how to adapt (or not) to advances in AI and to consider the value and inherent dangers of integrating AI into university teaching and learning. 

Wednesday, October 18 at 7:30 PM

RIVER HOUSE

 

Annual Student Juried Exhibition

A favorite among participants and viewers, this juried showcase features undergraduate student work that reflects the contemporary pulse in art making of Northeast Florida. The eclectic exhibition consists of a variety of media including animation, ceramics, computer generated images, drawings, film, glass art, graphic design, illustrations, photographs, prints, and sculpture. Awards are given for outstanding work.

October 19 – November 15

Opening Reception: Thursday, October 19 at 5:00 PM

ALEXANDER BREST GALLERY

 

JUWE/FCWS Partner Masterworks

The Jacksonville University Wind Ensemble partners with First Coast Wind Symphony in a joint concert of band favorites.

Thursday, October 19 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Fall Honors Recital

The Department of Music presents outstanding music majors in performance. 

Tuesday, October 24 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

7th Annual Ghost of JU Write-A-Thon

At the Literature, Language, and Culture Department's seventh annual Ghost of JU Write-A-Thon, three students will be writing for fifteen minutes at a time about the Ghost of JU. Students build on each other's stories, sending the Ghost of JU to the playing field, the performing stage, and the cafeteria. There will also be food and games. Students procure sponsors for this event to support local and international charities. Last year, the event raised more than $1,200, which was split between the Literacy Foundation of Northeast Florida and school scholarships for students in Haiti attending the Art Creation Foundation for Children. Scores of students from across campus participate in this festive event. We welcome support in the form of monetary donations as well as snacks for participating students.

Wednesday, October 25 at 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM

COUNCIL BUILDING COURTYARD

 

Fall Musical Theatre Production

*ticketed event

Directed by Kimberly Beasley with Music Directed by Jay Ivey
Vanities: The Musical chronicles the life-affirming journey of three vivacious Texas teens from cheerleaders to sorority sisters to housewives to liberated women and beyond. With a tunefully evocative score by David Kirshenbaum (Summer of ’42) and Jack Heifner’s hilarious adaptation of his long-running Off-Broadway smash, Vanities: The Musical is a funny and poignant look at three best friends who discover that, through thirty years of rapidly changing times, the one thing they can rely on is each other.

October 26 - 28 at 7:30 PM

Sunday, October 29 at 3:00 PM

PHILLIPS FINE ARTS BUILDING

BLACK BOX THEATER

 

Ritz Chamber Players
FROM STRUGGLE TO TRIUMPH

OPENING CONCERT 2023-2024 SEASON

Saturday, October 28 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Fall Choral Concert: The SoundS of Shibboleth

We open our season of SoundS with a Halloween concert of tricks, and treats. The program will include palindromes, double entrendres, riddles, the most terrifying ghost story ever sung, and lots of fun. Feel free to come in costume! When it comes to Shibboleth, if you know, you know. 

Tuesday, October 31 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

National French Week

Join the Department of Literature, Language, and Culture for our 7th annual National French Week! During this special week, our French classes, our campus partners, and our multiple award-winning French club, Le Cercle Francophone, will host a variety of events celebrating France and the Francophone World. 

Wednesday, November 1 – Wednesday, November 8

VARIOUS LOCATIONS

 

Jazz in the Black Box – The Jacksonville University Jazz Combos and Jazz Orchestra in Concert

*This event is free, but will require a reservation through tickets.judolphins.com

The Jazz in the Black Box series is back this season. Featuring the Jacksonville University jazz combos and the JUJO, this concert will be set in the Black Box Theater (P19) in the spirit of a traditional jazz venue. Be close to the bands, be close to the music, come be a part of the scene.

Thursday, November 2 at 7:30 PM

PHILLIPS FINE ARTS

BLACK BOX THEATER

 

Infinitus Presents

Jacksonville University's first-of-its-kind, student-led choral collective presents a program of music composed in the last 25 years. Featuring music by student and local composers alongside rarely performed works, this is a concert for those interested in hearing the future of choral music today.

Friday, November 3 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Guitar Ensemble and Studio Recital

A diverse program of music from the Renaissance through the 21st century, written and arranged for the classical guitar. Presented in guitar solos, duos, trios and quartets.

Sunday, November 5 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Chopin’s Waltzes
Scott Watkins Solo Recital

Pianist Scott Watkins presents a program which includes Mozart’s Sonata in A major with its famous Turkish Rondo, Howard Hanson’s Three Etudes, composed in 1919, and the complete Waltzes by Frederic Chopin

Tuesday, November 7 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Fall Orchestra Concert

The Jacksonville University Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Marguerite Richardson presents a concert of masterworks from the orchestral repertoire.

Wednesday, November 8 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Fall Dance Concert

*ticketed event

As part of the Stein College commitment to original programming, this annual eclectic dance concert will offer faculty and internationally recognized guest artists of choreography from a global perspective. Join us for exciting new dance works that challenge and invigorate both performers and audiences alike.

Thursday, November 9 and Friday, November 10 at 7:30 PM

Saturday, November 11 at 2:00 PM

SWISHER THEATER

 

Second Annual Jazz Choir Festival
Featuring Rob Dietz, Guest Artist

Rob Dietz is a multiple CARA winning arranger who has been performing contemporary a cappella music for over twenty years. Based in Los Angeles, Rob is best known for his work as an arranger/group coach for NBC’s The Sing-Off. He is an award-winning vocal percussionist, and his distinctive sound has been featured on FOX's Glee. As a teacher, Rob is a co-founder of A Cappella Academy and the author of A Cappella 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Contemporary A Cappella Singing published by Hal Leonard. He is an avid choral composer, with work published by Alfred and Walton Music.

Learn about Robert Dietz

Friday, November 10 through Saturday, November 11

Concert: Saturday, November 11 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Chamber Music Ensembles Concert

Brass, Strings, Woodwind, and Guitar ensembles perform chamber works. 

Monday, November 13 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

JUWE Fall Concert

The Jacksonville University’s new Director of Bands, Professor Ted Shistle conducts an evening of band favorites.

Tuesday, November 14 at 7:30 PM

TERRY CONCERT HALL

 

Ethical Guidelines in a Time of Scarcity: Reflection on the Allocation of Limited Medical Resources
Philosophy Slam 

David M Wheeler M Ed, RRT-NPS, FAARC. Clinical Associate Professor and Director of Jacksonville University Clinical Education MSRC Program, and research associate with Jacksonville University, The Mayo Clinic JAX, and the McCurry Lung Lab at The Cleveland Clinic. 

This discussion will focus on the ethical frameworks, both proposed and employed, in the allocation of scarce medical resources with additional concentration on the phenomena of “moral distress” and medical nihilism that attend these deliberations. This discussion will highlight aspects of biomedical ethical thought both ancient and new that will provide a mental model of ethical action and decision-making in unheard-of circumstances. 

Wednesday, November 15 at 7:30 PM

RIVER HOUSE